1961 Yankee Of The Day: Bud Daley

Bud Daley



Bud Daley came to the Yankees on June 14th, 1961 in a deal that sent a pitcher (Art Ditmar) and a catcher (Deron Johnson) to Kansas.

Daley's record at the time of the trade was 4-8. His career record was 39-39. But Bud really came through for the Yankees that year, a team he'd be with through the 1964 season. He was with a team that wouldn't hesitate to turn to him, even in the biggest game of the year.

His record would be 4-9 after his first Yankee outing. He surrendered 6 earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work against the Tigers.

But from there he settled down and soon brought his record to 8-10 by making three fine starts against the Senators, Red Sox and Orioles in July.

Then the wheels came off the chariot.

He lost five straight games and saw his ERA shoot up to 5.19 at one point. His W-L record wasn't much better, 8-15.

But then it clicked again, for the last two months and in that year's World Series.

He defeated Los Angeles on a fine six hitter, got routed by Washington, then he was used in mop up duty as August ended.

September brought in Daley's finest month. First he beat Washington again with a fine 6 hitter. Then another complete game victory over Cleveland (5-hitter). Finally, he closed the month with a loss to Detroit, another five hit complete game gem against the Orioles, a 6 inning, six-hitter against Baltimore, and a scoreless inning against the Red Sox on the second last game of the season for the hold.

Daley's final numbers, broken down:

Total: 12-17, 4.28 ERA, 193.1 IP

KC: 4-8, 4.95 ERA, 63.2 IP

NY: 8-9, 3.96 ERA, 129.2 IP

In the World Series that year, Bud got into two games. Bud no doubt welcomed the opportunity. Great as the Yankees were that year, they'd really need him in those two games to contribute!

In game three, he pitched to one batter in the seventh inning. With two down, and the Reds just having scored a run against Bill Stafford to make it 2-1 Cincy, Daley retired Vada Pinson on a fly to right to end the inning. New York came back in no time, don't you worry!

In the top of the eighth, Johhny Blanchard batted for Daley with the Yankees still behind, 2-1. On Mickey Mantle's advice, he swung on the first pitch by Bob Purkey, and sent it into the right field stands to tie the game. The Yankees went on to win 3-2.

Daley didn't get credit for the win in that game (Luis Arroyo did), but in game 5, with starter Ralph Terry knocked out early with the Yankees ahead 6-3, Daley took over with one out in the bottom of the third.

He allowed a single and double in that inning, but escaped without further harm. Then he pitched a 1-2-3 fourth.

But in the fifth, with the Yankees now up 11-3, Daley faced Pinson again, who was leading off the inning. He singled, but was thrown out trying for a double by Roger Maris. After Frank Robinson (who had hit a three run homerun earlier) fouled out, Gordon Coleman reached first when Bud dropped a throw by Moose Skowron while covering first on a grounder to the first baseman. This proved to be costly as not only did the inning continue, but Wally Post then smacked a home run to deep left field.

This proved to be but a temporary lapse in concentration, however. Daley got it together, the Yankees added two more runs to offset Post's home run, going on to win 13-5 And this time our Buddy got credit for the win (6.2 IP 5H 0BB 3K). That game won the World Series for the Yankees, 4 games to 1.

The most amazing thing about Daley the lefty?

He pitched his entire career with a withered right hand.

References

Gallagher, Mark. Explosion! Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. New York: Arbor House, 1987. Print, pp. 160-177, 345-353.

Golenbock, Peter. "1961." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 405-445.

Mantle, Mickey and Herskowitz, Mickey. "The M&M Boys." All My Octobers. Harper Collins, 1994. Print, pp. 129-145.

Nemec, David, and Scott Flatow. "Handicapped Players."Great Baseball Feats, Facts, Firsts (2010). New York, NY: Signet, 2010. Print, pp. 200.

Smith, Ron. 61* The Story Of  Roger Maris And Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. The Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Aug. 2011.

The World Series Of 1961. Dir. Lew Fonseca. Prod. Dick Borden. Perf. Mel Allen. Major League Baseball Productions., 1961. DVD.